A Holiday With the Wufeis
by ShaPip
Summary: Yeah, his descendants... and it's Christmas... and ... his only great-grandson with the Wufei name is GAY! BUWAHAHAHAHHA... ha... Anyways, read it if you dare. Its good. I think so anyways.


~Chapter One: Christmas Eve~

  
  


Outside the Wufei residence, in Parkersburg, West Virginia, snow delicately danced from the clouds to the ground, adding to the thin blanket of snow already covering the earth. A few new car tracks rolled down the street, most of the leading to cars parked around the Wufei house. A trickle of fading footprints lead from the cars into the house.

The off white exterior of the house was the most drab in the neighborhood. No decorations whatsoever, not even a tree inside the window. 

Inside the Wufei house, the air was thick as molasses with the aroma of a Christmas dinner. An uproar of laughter filled the room full, then died down within a few seconds to only the deep voice of a man talking, telling a story. 

"And then he said 'Well, do you sell Pepsi?'" the man laughed again along with 4 other people in the room. He was tall, even when sitting down. His dark brown hair was a bit mussed and his brilliant electric blue eyes were alive against his pinkish skin and his dark hair. 

Right next to the man was a Japanese woman holding a small Japanese baby boy on her lap. Despite the happy climate she was in, the woman neither smiled nor laughed. But her baby boy smile his bare smile at the giant man next to him. The man looked down at the boy, smiled, and tickled his little chin. The baby let out a loud laugh. 

"He's so adorable, Stéphan! You're lucky to have such a beautiful son" said a man across the room from the tall man, Stéphan. 

"Yes, but it takes a beautiful wife to make a beautiful son" Stéphan placed a hand on the woman next to him's hand. She didn't smile at him or even look at him, she just looked at her hand, looked at the man across the room and spoke: 

"Jomei, you shouldn't say that-- your son is very beautiful, too" 

Jomei told the woman to stop flattering him and returned to talking to Stéphan. Jomei was the younger brother of the woman, Jun. He was 19 and already had a son-- Marcus. Little Marcus, now a year old, was just learning to balance standing up and trying to walk. He currently stood holding onto his father's leg for balance, his murky green eyes staring across the room and the baby on Jun's lap. His father brushed a hand over the boy's caramel hair, fixing an imperfection in his part, making Marcus wobble a little and look up to his father, then back to the boy. 

The little baby the woman held smiled and laughed at his father, then moved his little Japanese eyes across the room. His eyes caught the wide eyes of Marcus. The little boy's smile soon faded as he began to stare without any emotion at his cousin, drooling a little. 

Stéphan looked at his son, then at Marcus and spoke: "Stéphan?" 

The little baby laughed then looked back at his father. 

"Would you like to play with Marcus?" 

The little baby, Stéphan Junior, just laughed. 

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Jomei picked up little Marcus. "Do you wanna go play with baby Stéphan, Marcus?" 

Marcus just sighed at his father. 

"Is that healthy? I don't think he's even learned a word, Jomei!" said a woman sitting next to Jomei. She was quite short and had reddish brown Chinese eyes. In fact this was Jomei's second older sister, Bo. 

"He just hasn't caught on yet, Bo. He'll learn soon" was Jomei's response as he kissed his son's forehead and placed the boy on a mat in the middle of the floor, right next to where Jun has put her son. 

Marcus looked back at his father with his little mouth ajar and his eyes worried. Stéphan Jr. laughed at Marcus then grabbed the older boy's sleeve and began chewing on it. Marcus just sighed at the sight of the little 5 month old boy next to him. Everyone in the room cooed at the two adorable little boys. 

-------------------- 

The kitchen of the Wufei house was a bit crowded, to say the least, as the final preparations were made for dinner. People were chatting in Chinese and English as they did their jobs for the evening. The only man in the room pulled a ham from the stove, and laughed at a joke someone had told. 

His chocolate hair waswas parted neatly down the off-center and shaved cleanly on the back, the rest of his hair was a bit longer and going every which way. His eyes were deep brown and full of warm emotions as he removed a light light blue apron he was wearing and set it on a chair. Straightening his white sweater, the man looked around the room and spotted who he was looking for. 

"Ming Ue, are you busy?" he called to the girl. She looked up at him, tossing some jet black locks from her face, and focusing her disturbing ice blue eyes on him. She was Chinese but her eyes begged to differ that she was of pure Chinese blood. 

"I'm almost done with the pie... why?" her voice was small and flat. 

"I was wondering if you could put this ham onto a platter for me-- I wanted to go visit my boys" 

"Oh, sure thing" Ming Ue quickly covered up a pie and came to the man. She wasn't much shorter than he was, no more than 5 foot 6 inches, but her dimensions were much larger. Though she was only at the ripe age of 14, Ming Ue had a chest almost any teenage girl would dream of, considering Ming's rather shapeless hips and legs. But her appearance didn't budge the man, who wasn't too much older than she. He thanked the girl and headed off to the living room. 

The man smiled softly in his almost womanly way when he saw the two boys playing on the floor. They had acquired a large tablet of white paper from somewhere and were coloring on it with crayons. The pictures he saw were hardly recognizable as to what they were of, but he was happy nevertheless. 

Jomei looked at the man and smiled. "Hello, Chad" 

"Hi, dear" Chad was careful not to interrupt the children as he made his way to sit next to Jomei, giving him a quick kiss. 

"Mmm... you smell yummy" Jomei said as he caught the aroma of ham from his husband's clothing. 

"I was in charge of the oven" Chad entangled his hand in the tan hand of Jomei and smiled softly as he watch his son, Marcus, play with Stéphan Jr. 

"Aaw! You two are so cute together, so in love! I bet I know whats gonna be goin' on tonight!" Bo said, nudging her brother in law, who sat next to her. Chad blushed a little and looked away from Jomei, who just barely stifled a laugh. 

"Bo, do not talk like that in front of the children and the guests." Jun said sternly to her first youngest sister. 

"Oh, you're just an old grouch, Jun. I'd hate to be your kid." 

"Well, I'd like to see you even TRY to raise a child." 

Bo blushed any given shade of red and left the room swiftly. 

"Jun! That was down right cold of you!" Jomei exclaimed, then he let a smile sneak onto his face. "And you're the only person I know who can do that and can still keep a straight face." 

"Practice, Jomei." 

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your sister, Jun" Stéphan said to his wife of 7 years. 

"It happens" Jun slowly looked up into her husbands eyes, making him turn a little pink. 

-------------------- 

As Ming Ue tried to get the big ham onto a platter, everyone stayed quite busy, not noticing her dilemma. In a red apron bearing her name, Xiao Chen -- the third oldest of the whole lot -- folded napkins nicely into little cranes, all 15 of them. Nearby, her first youngest sister Huan Yue was finishing up with the mashed potatoes, mashing them and preparing the gravy. And the youngest of the Wufei clan stood over the stove boiling some vegetables without a hint of enthusiasm. She was only 10 years old and, just just like her oldest sister, she displayed no emotions whatsoever. 

"Hey Yan Yan, what's your problem today? You're actin' like Jun." Ming Ue said to the young girl. 

"Nothing" Yan Yan sighed. 

"Okay, but its not my fault if you end up being a depressed teenager." 

"That's fine with me" 

"Well, it shouldn't be" Huan Yue butted in, "Its not very fun." She barely glanced at her baby sister. 

"I'm already halfway there anyway, who cares?" Yan Yan almost violently turned the stove off and poured the vegetables into a strainer, tossed her pink apron on a chair, and headed downstairs. Her sisters all looked at each other, then went back to their chores. 

-------------------- 

Devonny Wufei sat in her bedroom on her big bed, alone. She held a picture in a nice wooden frame, stroking the glass a little with a tear in her eye and a sigh from her lungs. Of course she was still grieving over the loss of her beloved husband, Li, last summer. The holiday season only made it worse, Christmas being one of their favorite holidays. They used to curl up together in front of the fireplace, the only time it was lit, and stay up all night talking. It had already been 5 months, almost 6, since Li's unfortunate accident, but she still hadn't gotten over it. Young Yan Yan came to her mother's door and smiled a little as Devonny looked up to see was projecting a shadow on her carpet. She smiled back at her daughter calmly, almost just wanting to frown despite the visitor. 

"It's almost dinner time, mama." 

"Oh, okay" Devonny set the photograph back on her nightstand and stood slowly, stretching. She looked ahead of her into a mirror and checked her hair and her almost green skirt, fretting over every little imperfection. 

"You look beautiful, mama, don't worry." Yan Yan reassured her mother. 

Devonny smiled. She was happy that her daughter was in a good mood. taking Yan Yan's hand, Devonny headed upstairs with her daughter wearing a mechanical smile. 

As they entered the living room, Yan Yan strayed from her mother to check on her sisters and to resume her dinner duty. Stéphan saw Devonny first, and stood as she progressed toward him. 

"Devonny! How are you feeling?" He gave her a hug and lead her to a seat next to Jun. 

"I'm wonderful, Stéphan" Devonny watched her grandchildren playing and brought out her real smile, making her look much younger than before. 

"Your grandsons are already the best of friends, Devonny! What a sight to come upstairs to, huh?" Chad said as he moved his eyes from his mother-in-law back to his son and his nephew. 

"They are" replied Devonny. 

The two boys sat side by side, Marcus helping Stéphan out every now and then. They were drawing pictures for their parents and their aunts, even though little Stéphan didn't really know what he was doing. He simply just copied whatever Marcus was drawing as best as he could. Within a few minutes Marcus sat up and held up a picture he drew. It was full of vibrant purples, blues and browns. The figure on the paper almost looked like a person, but to the untrained eye it was just a bunch of scribbles. Devonny being a veteran of raising children she knew exactly what he had tried to draw. 

"Sat!!" Marcus pointed at the drawing and showed it to his fathers. 

Chad took the drawing and smiled in a motherly way. "Oh, look at this! This is such a good drawing, Marcus! I think it's your best yet!" 

Marcus squealed with laughter as Jomei picked him up. The little boy crawled onto Chad's lap and hugged him, talking gibberish to him. 

Devonny smiled. "I think the picture is of you, Chad." She interpreted the lines on the paper she had seen and the child's actions. 

"Really? That's so sweet of my little Marckie- Marc!" Chad kissed his baby's hair and Marcus again squealed with his little laughter. 

"Almost time, guys" Xiao Chen called to her family, interrupting the moment. Within a few minutes, Xiao Chen and Huan Yue were setting the table. The group from the living room headed towards the table, Jomei holding onto his son's hand's hand helping him walk between his own legs. Jun simply picked up her son and escorted him to a booster chair next to Stéphan. Everyone sat, all the food was out and Bo had returned from the depths. 

Though this was a not a particularly religious family, every Christmas they said grace before eating and this year there was a definite need to. 

"Amen" every said in a monotone voice after Devonny said her grace. Almost immediately thereafter people's hands darted out like the tongues of frogs towards the elaborately arranged selections of foods. 

The air in the room was light and airy, but full of happiness. There was no tree set up in the house this year, except the usual Asian born decorative trees Li had brought back from China so often. An abundance of gifts flowed from the fireplace, arranged in a very articulate design that was almost fan shaped. A fan shaped display of cards was set up on the mantle, all waiting to be opened. On a shelf near to the mantle were a few opened birthday cards from Xiao Chen's 20th birthday they celebrated that morning. On another shelf on the opposite side of the mantle as the cards sat a lone birthday gift wrapped in light pink paper with gold words all over it in Chinese symbols. It had a beautifully crafted purple bow on top with an unopened card standing near, reading the symbols for Yan Yan's name, in beautiful calligraphy. 

Everyone was chatting, now, about everything that had happened recently to them that maybe not everyone had heard about. Stéphan's new car, Jomei's promotion, Huan Yue's perfect score on a biology test, or Yan Yan's acceptance into the Gifted and Talented program. Jun was helping her baby eat some potatoes, spooning tiny amounts into his little mouth with only a bit actually making it. He'd grab for his mom' plate of potatoes and laugh, as he wanted more. Marcus simply used his little hands to try and eat his potatoes and little pieces of ham. 

Devonny would glance around her children, smiling at how they had grown up. Happy to see her children happy as well as Chad, Marcus, Stéphan and baby Stéphan. But she had accepted them all by now, loving like her own children, and grandchildren. 

"Aren't you having a good time?" asked Devonny's blonde son of her. 

"What? Oh, yes, I'm having a fine time, Jomei" 

"Doesn't look like it" Chad added. 

"I'm fine, really, boys." she managed another smile on her prematurely aged face. After all, she was 48 and had already had 7 children, lost her husband, and had 2 grandsons. 

"Hey, uh, Jomei" Stéphan broke a short silence that had overcome the room. "Whatever happened to Cindy, eh? I never heard the end of that story." 

"She ditched us" Jomei, of course, referring us to him and his son. Cindy Karoll was Marcus' biological mother, him being the result of an accident that happened 2 years ago at a party. "She said it was all my fault and put him up for adoption after a few months. It took a while, but when Marcus was 7 months I got guardianship from the state." 

"The poor soul..." 

"I say it was her fault-- she's the one who got me drunk. But Marcus is a blessing to me either way" 

"Some people just don't know when to stop, but I guess it worked out this time." 

"Yeah, luckily" 

"But it's too bad he won't have a mother" Stéphan added. 

"Oh, yes he does!" Chad tickled his son's chin. 

Stéphan smiled, then looked back at his wife and his son. Jun, still emotionless, carried on in feeding her son, taking very short breaks to feed herself. "Well, that just shoes how much more immature Cindy was than everyone else, right?" Yan Yan said. 

"How is that?" Devonny asked. 

"She had sex in high school." 

A few people nodded and a few turned their heads to hide their slight blushing. 

"Eh... You know, Yan Yan, your father and I had sex in high school way back when." 

"Were you sophomores?" 

"Well, no." 

"Then it's different! And you probably made him use protection, because you always boost using condoms and stuff." Yan Yan didn't really think to look around her and see her six siblings, and realize WHY Devonny was so in favor of her children using protection if they were going to have premarital relations. 

"Yan Yan, dear, I don't think this topic is... appropriate right now." 

"I'm sorry" 

Everyone stayed silent before Huan Yue finished her dinner quickly and suggested they attend to their beckoning presents. 

"Haste makes waste, Huan" Jun commented without even looking at her younger sister. 

"No it doesn't! You're 28, Jun! You're too old to appreciate Christmas anymore." 

"Huan Yue... I'm not in the mood" Jun rubbed her temples as her son started laughing almost maniacally. 

"Ah, stop your whining. You're just PMS- ing" Bo interrupted. Everyone immediately scolded her. "What!? What'd I do? I only told the truth!" 

"Bo, sometimes you just shouldn't tell that kind of truth." Devonny said calmly. 

"What, like about people's personal problems?" 

"Yes, exactly" Devonny stood with her dishes and headed back to the kitchen. 

"Kono ama" Jomei said, as he himself stood, to his sister. Only a few people understood Japanese in the Wufei house, and Bo didn't. But Jun did, and she immediately gave the usually kind Jomei and surprised expression. Everyone started cleaning up after Jomei had left -- if they didn't, they wouldn't get any gifts! 

It took a good while for everything and everyone to be cleaned up. Jun and Chad had to bathe their son's and everyone else had to clear the tables to perfection. 

By the time they were all done cleaning it was nearly 9 PM and the girls immediately dove into their gifts. Of course Devonny, Jun, Jomei and Chad sat aside to watch. Chad and Jun, though, had gotten their son's gifts and helped the sleepy baby's open them up. Devonny watched her family; they were so happy now, again. After such a loss as their father, and on Yan Yan's birthday, no one would have expected them to recover to quickly. But nevertheless some damage still remained with the some of the children. 

Jun, having been 9 months pregnant when Li passed away, had suffered from postpartum depression for a while after the birth of her son. Even Stéphan was still having trouble dealing with some of the after effects that stayed with his wife. 

Yan Yan's tenth birthday had been ruined by the event. Her happy outlook on life took a number and let her worse side show through. She, her sister and her mother all went into a depression at once, overwhelming the others in their family with the trouble of supporting the three. 

But everyone was feeling better now, more or less, happy to be together as a family again. Even Jun was happy, despite her expression, she was doing the best she could in the way of smiling. If you didn't really personally know Jun, you wouldn't think she was enjoying helping her son with the wrapping paper on a gift from Devonny. 

As Stéphan Jr found so much joy in such things, he received a toy rag doll monkey, grasping it immediately and laughing almost demonically. Since Jun's first Christmas it had been a Wufei tradition to give a baby, on their first Christmas, a little toy rag doll monkey. Li had given every child one, and when he and Devonny were 5 or 6, he had given her one that she still kept on a shelf near her bed. 

Another round of tears neared Devonny's eyes as memories flooded back to her of all those monkeys Li had given out: To 7 week old Jun, 2 month old Bo, 1 day old Xiao Chen, 6 month old Jomei, 9 month old Huan Yue, 7 month old Ming Ue and 5 month old Yan Yan. She faintly remembered receiving her own, her mother having recorded that Christmas on a video file that still sat in her mother's house in Japan. She remembered the little Chinese boy that transferred to her school, shunned because of his small size and very little Japanese vocabulary. But Devonny immediately took a shine to the boy, ending up spending 43 wonderful years together. 

In her daydreaming, Devonny hadn't realized that her daughter was calling her. 

"Mama? Mama!?" Yan Yan gave her mother a nudge. 

When Devonny came back to reality she looked at her daughter surprised. "Huh? What is it? What's wrong??" 

"Mama, Stéphan says thank you" Yan Yan pointed to the baby who was holding the doll in one arm and sort of reaching for Devonny as to ask for a hug. Devonny apologized, smiled, and picked up her little grandson, giving him a well deserved hug. 

Everyone was satisfied when they had opened their gifts, happy to receive what they had all asked for, with the exception of Ming Ue's prize race horse. But that, of course, was only a joke. 

Devonny had received a pack of 10 free visits to a spa-- she was so stressed out lately and needed some alone time-- that she gratefully accepted; a beautiful cashmere sweater in her favorite shade of purple; a Christmas card containing $500 that all her children had chipped in on as well as her sons-in-law. Chad happily added to her many collections by giving Devonny the last two porcelain figures she had needed. 

Jun herself didn't really ask for anything for herself, or want anything for that matter. But she gladly received a few things to help her with raising her son-- a few books, clothing, larger toys like a "swing-a-ma-jig" -- and some money for indulging herself. She received a few CDs and some Japanese collectables Chad had given her to help with her collection and the new motif she was giving Stéphan's house. After all, she loved being Japanese and she loved the intricate designs on some of the little geisha dolls or paper fans she had. 

Bo, being her blithely laid back self, received a brand new entertainment center which included a 20 CD changer, DVD player, satellite radio, surround sound speakers-- everything you could imagine a electronic set including! To accompany her large gift, she received some new DVDs and CDs and video game cartridges to use in her new hardware. 

Xiao Chen, with her tradition Wufei personality, ripped through the wrapping paper like a shark in a minnow pond. She exuberantly adopted the $300 found in a Christmas card, and a brand new set of kendo armor and bamboo swords straight from Japan. And to top that off, she obtained a 5th katana to add to her beloved collection. She loved her martial arts. 

As a joke gift, Bo first gave her brother and his husband a porno film. Everyone, except Yan Yan and the children, really, understood the gift and stifled a laugh. Seriously, the two joyously received some cold hard cash, a brand new computer, and some of their favorite style of sweater and pants, them both fitting into each other's clothes quite easily. But they're biggest gift was actually waiting at a shop near their home. Stéphan, Jun and Devonny had all bought them a brand new furniture set, remembering how badly they needed one. They're current couch was orange, the recliner chair was light blue and their house was a very neutral beige. Nothing matched, so the three happily gave the couple a well needed gift. 

Huan Yue was excited about opening her gifts, but didn't open them so rapidly as Xiao Chen. Her first package contained a vital new backpack, black in color. She thought it felt a little heavy, and she opened it to find a brand new discman, CDs, a set of 48 gel pens, and several gift cards to her favorite stores at their nearby mall that she visited so often. She had asked Chad and Jomei for 4 books and was excited to get them, just as she wanted, and Stéphan supplied he with a brand new digital music system for her computer. 

Ming Ue, in all her glory, was pleased to unwrap 10 different ball-chain necklaces and 10 bracelets, as well as several sets of earrings, patches, pins, pens, and a couple pairs of her favorite black pants. She received a multiplicity of hard rock CDs, her animé movies, and her favorite gift of all -- cash. 

Young Yan Yan opened her gifts as any ten year old-- with more force than the hurricane force of Xiao Chen. She was a virtual chain saw against the weak wrapping papers. She almost screamed with joy as she discovered her 3 new Barbies, boyband CDs, a few shirts and clothes store cards. Her brother gave her some little crystal kanji figures to add to her collection and Stéphan and Jun had gotten her what she had asked for-- a little purebred Yorkshire terrier that she immediately named Mao. (And some puppy chow and such amenities to owning a dog) 

Devonny sighed heavily at this gift, but since her house was becoming ever so quickly empty, she decided to let her daughter keep the pup. After all, how bad could it be? 

Little Marcus giggled as he put on a hat he received-- he loved hats. And he loved little fluffy animals. So, in turn, he received a few outfits, plenty of hats, some stuffed animals that were overly fluffy, and some toy trucks. He was a happy puppy, just like the one he petted gently. (Mao!) 

And last but not least, baby Stéphan gladly received a few stuffed animals, a new blanket, some toy people and trains. He didn't really realize what they actually were, but he was happy never the less. 

An hour passed and Marcus and Stéphan Jr had fallen asleep, Marcus in Chad's motherly hug, and Stéphan in Devonny's arms. Everyone sat around the fireplace, on the floor or on the couches and chairs, listening to Devonny tell them tales they hadn't heard in years. 

"... and just 2 short months later, I had Jun. I wasn't in the hospital that long, but it was quite the pain! Not the actual birth, but the surrounding events. My grandfather-in-law was there only an hour or so after we arrived, only there to name her. And he and Li were bickering almost the whole time. But finally I had her, and everyone was at peace once he named Jun... well, Jun. The name had popped into his head after he had said the word 'truth' in a phrase, Jun meaning truth. Gratefully, we got to leave only a few hours later-- a while after Cheng had." 

"What an enchanting way to think of a name" Jun noted. 

"But it's such a beautiful name" Devonny sighed. 

"I've noticed" Jun looked over at her tired husband, trying not to nod off. So Jun took a blanket and covered him up, giving him a little kiss on the forehead. Stéphan smiled and happily drifted off into sleep. 

"Hey! C'mon, ma! Don't make me tell mine! Remember the last time I did? I don't think there were elephants in there!" Bo spoke up. 

"Okay, okay, dear. When you were borne, it was a lovely 4am and your father was away in China. So I had to try and get to the hospital myself. I woke little Jun and we headed out. I was so preoccupied that I did worse trying not to crash than Li had when Jun was born!" she laughed "By now Jun was bawling her little eyes out, asking where daddy was. I had her call Cheng to let him know that he should come over soon, and to get the message to Li. A while after we had gotten to the hospital, Cheng arrived and began the round of pestering me again. Jun had been taken by Dr.Ching on his rounds to keep her mind off the fact that her dad wasn't home yet. Finally, right as I was about to give birth, Li showed up, looking like he had given his all to get there in time. When Bo was borne, she named 'Bo' because Cheng had thought he had heard someone say precious, but it was actually the word 'presumptuous'. she laughed again. 

"I just love that. My name was supposed to mean presumptuous." Bo flatly said. 

"At least you have an interesting story" Xiao Chen butted in, "He just look out the window and said 'Xiao Chen!' Early dawn! So boring..." 

"Now, Xiao," Devonny looked at her daughter, who so much looked like Cheng Wufei, "It's a beautiful name that captures a beautiful morning." 

"I know, I know..." 

"And of course, I have the best story of them all" Jomei gloated. 

"Oh, its a wonderful one..." Devonny remember that day. "It was on a perfect September morning...." 

---- Flash Back ---- 

It was 8am, bright and early, Devonny (now 9 months pregnant) woke up with a stretch and a sigh, wishing her husband would be able to come home from his trip sooner. She checked on her daughters, Jun (9), Bo (3) and Xiao Chen (1) and headed upstairs. In the kitchen, to her utter surprise, she found her grandfather-in-law eating breakfast! At this unexpected visitor, Devonny's water broke. Cheng immediately smiled his almost bare smile and went to wake the girls and bring his granddaughter to have his first grandson carrying the Wufei name. 

On the way to the hospital, Devonny tried calling Li, but only got his voice mail. 

At their arrival, they're now family doctor was waiting. Dr.Ching, a Chinese doctor who had started his career in West Virginia the year Jun was born, happily lead Devonny to her room and took Jun and Bo to release some of the stress from Devonny. 

After several phone calls to Li and hours of labor, Devonny finally called her father. He arrived in a few hours-- determined not to miss the birth of his grandson. 

Finally, her baby not wanting to wait any longer, Devonny went into the final stages of labor, and was close to giving birth to her son when her father finally got hold of Li. 

Li was in the middle of a very important meeting with the leaders of China that was televised world wide, live. The only way Trowa had actually got a hold of Li was because Li had shifted in his seat a little, making his phone turn on. When he got the call, everyone in the room gave Li an aggravated glare until he explained. 

"My wife is giving birth to my first son" 

Everyone in the room lighted up a little and let Li see through to the phone call while the other decided to take break. Li was proud when the other men in the room had given him a little round of applause when they heard little baby's first cry (Li always had is phone quite loud anyway, and the room was pretty small). This happened right as the cameras were turned back on to continue televising the meeting. 

Li was happy to hear Trowa name his son, glad because his grandfather would have named him Li the 3rd. But Trowa made a good choice and named the boy Jomei, after the sun had quickly risen after Devonny's painful 22 hours of labor. 

---- Flash Forward ---- 

"I'm so glad we have such a paranoid neighbor" Devonny said, pressing a video into a slot in a shelf. A few of their neighbors, there in West Virginia, were elderly folk. And one in particular, Mr. Henderson, was a bit paranoid of international conspiracy. So, in turn, he taped every single international conference that was televised. And luckily, he just happened to tape the one in which Li was so embarrassed when his son was borne. 

"That was so wonderful! One of the most feared governments in the world pardoned the birth of my husband" Chad squeezed Jomei's hand a little, getting a little kiss from the man. 

"Yes, I was very surprised myself, and a little embarrassed-- after all, Li had had his phone up loud enough for everyone in the room to hear me giving birth" Devonny laughed. 

"But in return you got a beautiful baby boy." 

"I bet you're thinkin' more than that" Bo said to Chad, making him blush in that girlish way of his. 

"Anyway... Go on, mom" Huan Yue spoke up, giving her mom a little poke. 

"Okay, okay.. Lets see... when you were borne, Huan, it was right after I had picked Jun and Bo up from school and Xiao Chen from day care. The second we got home my water broke!" She laughed a little, "So I called Dr.Ching, him having Wednesdays off that year, and he came over and brought us all to the hospital. And Ho Ching watched over you guys until your father and Cheng arrived from China. And you were named Huan Yue because everyone was extremely happy and relieved when you were borne-- after 73 hours of labor!" she laughed again. 

"Who wouldn't be happy?" Ming Ue laughed. 

"Don't be laughing, Ming Ue, it took you 80 hours of labor! It hurt so much, they had to drug me a few times and almost had to induce labor." Devonny smirked. "And you were the only one to be borne in the middle of the night-- 2am!" 

"Heh, yeah..." Ming Ue stifled a laugh. 

"Mom? You never told me about when I was borne" Yan Yan spoke up, playing with her mother's auburn locks, the same as hers. 

"Oh! Well then! I must proceed--" 

"Ah, we were all there and remember it fine. Tell a better story." Bo snorted. 

"Bo! Watch your mouth! You're 22 years old and should know better now" Devonny scolded. 

"Reer! Bitchay!" 

"Bo, would you please leave the room. I can not tolerate this behavior anymore." Devonny massaged her temples. 

"You... just realize the way I act now?" 

"Bo..." 

"Or maybe you're just in one of 'those moods' where no one should get attention but you because your husband died" 

"Bo, please, just leave" Devonny's eyes teared up again. How can her daughter act this way after 22 years of being nothing but a loving but a loving, tolerant mother? 

"Oh, is the baby gonna cry now?" Bo said in a mocking tone. 

Devonny's expression turned from one of hurt and agitated to a whole new look for any of her children. Her eyes shut gently, her brown crinkled at the center and furrowed it in a purely hate filled way. When she stood, her eyes shot open and she looked like a person not to be messed with. She grabbed fiercely her daughter's arm and brought her downstairs. And for the first time in any of their lives, Jun; Xiao Chen; Jomei; Huan Yue; Ming Ue and Yan Yan heard their mother yell at her daughter, worse than just a slightly raised voice. 

The pacifist Devonny yelled at her daughter, tears flowing steadily from her grief stricken eyes. Her booming voice was filled with years and years of unreleased emotions. Hate. Anger. Frustration. They all fell out in a tangle of mangled half phrases, all for Bo. And Bo simply stood with her arms crossed, looking annoyed and nothing more. 

Yan Yan was close to tears herself; it was all her fault. Ever since she was borne she had caused nothing but bad for her family and herself. When she heard these words explode from her mother's mouth, her eyes teared up in the same fashion as her mother's had and she silently cried. Ming Ue, being right near the younger girl, took Yan Yan in her arms and attempted to calm her. 

The clearest and the most unwelcome part of their 'discussion' came too soon after it had begun. 

"I can not believe how you can think it is okay to act up like this at your age, and after how much we've done for you." Devonny paused in case Bo had anything, anything at all, to say. "You are to be out of this house by 6am tomorrow. Anything you leave behind is subject to be thrown away." 

Even Bo could hardy believe that it was her mother who had just sentenced her to this punishment-- the woman who, as she had said many many times, had tolerated wild Bo; the same woman who had gone out of her way for anything the children craved. 

With pain in her wet voice, Devonny turned to head upstairs. "And you are never to return unless you are invited." Then she left. Devonny cleared her eyes before she came into the view of her family, or what was left of it. She looked around the depressingly surprised room, at their almost mournful expressions. At seeing he tear-ridden daughter, Devonny sat back down, apologizing to all, and taking her youngest in her arms. 

"Mom? Why'd you do that? Just because of what she said?" Yan Yan asked with a snivel. 

"Dear, you haven't been around long enough to realize how much Bo deserves this." 

"She's soul-less, and rude" Jun added. "I knew this day would come soon, knowing that she probably wouldn't move out on her own and drive you insane unless she left. I mean, she's never going to have children or even get married after all..." 

"Yeah, frankly I'm kind of glad she's out" Xiao Chen said, Huan Yue agreeing. 

"Don't be so cruel! She is, after all, your sister, Xiao Chen" Jomei pointed out. "First and foremost. Even I've learned to deal with her ways." He put an arm around Chad, reorganizing his son in his arms. "Even her taunted of me and my boyfriends over the years." 

Devonny smiled at her son. He seemed to be the only one trying to back up Bo even a little. 

"Mommy, it's not fair" Yan Yan sniveled. "None of this ever would have happened if Daddy were still alive. Why did he have to die?" 

"Honey, life isn't fair. God only knows why the best people are taken first. Everything will be fine. " she kissed her daughter's hair and rocked her back and forth a little, trying to reassure the young girl that maybe taking Li so early was a good thing, maybe it would end up everything working out for the best.   
  
~Review, Please! BTW, if any of you wanna read more, tell me so I can type up Chapter two *grumble*~ 


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